Some teachers new to Waldorf education have seen Form Drawing – but shy away from it. Things to know about Form Drawing:
Although it is a precursor to handwriting, it is extremely beneficial in all the grades.
- It crosses the midlines, strengthening fine motor skills, and other developmental issues.
- It slows us down in a world where we are always rushing
- It strengthens our ability to produce beauty on paper
- It can help balance the temperaments
Telling a story is a great way to engage the children into the form. But let’s not make that more difficult than it needs to be! You can remember something from a story in the last couple of days and have the children retell it a bit to use with the form. For instance, if you were studying Africa and told a story about a girl weaving a basket, the story may not have explained exactly what the basket looked like, but you could say, ” Remember the basket she wove? Well, it took her days to do it and she wove the thick grass this way……..”
Using the right forms for the right developmental stage of children can be daunting. There are some wonderful Form Drawing books out there by Donna Simmons, Laura Embrey-Stine and Ernst Schuberth, Hans R. Niederhauser and others.
Keys to Form Drawing:
- Work on the form yourself prior to presenting it so that you feel comfortable with it.
- Don’t try to cram it into 5 minutes. Take the time to do it right so the children don’t feel rushed.
- Remember it is the process – not the outcome that is truly important.
Check out this Form Drawing Gallery that breaks them up into grades:
http://www.waldorftoday.com/gallery/Form+Drawing/